Singapore warily monitors rising sea levels as world marks Oceans Day

On World Oceans Day 2022, climate experts and activists aim to inform the public on the impact of human activity on the seas. It's a familiar topic in Singapore, where rising sea levels pose an existential threat to the city-state of 6 million inhabitants.

Dr Jędrzej Majewski, a research fellow at the Earth Observatory of Singapore, plunges a scale into the water to measure the current sea level.

The water level right now is not alarming, but that, Majewski warns, could change. "Under the high emission target, we may reach 90 centimeters something and there is some very low probability that because we don't understand the Antarctic ice sheets, there may be advances that make it rise to actually roughly 1.7 meters... it's the size of me," said Majewski with a wry smile.

The smile though hides a very real fear for the future of this wealthy island nation. One of the richest countries in the world, Singapore is also one of the most endangered.

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